


Changes

by _Lightning_ (Lightning070)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Happy Ending, Headcanon, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 20:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning070/pseuds/_Lightning_
Summary: Her gaze fell upon the mug in his hand. "And this?" she inquired, with a suddenly stern frown."My youth potion," Tony promptly replied, taking an intentional long sip. "Namely coffee.""Decaf?""Can't remember, age is getting a toll on me," he said, putting on a sly smirk.A brief, fluff-filled Christmas gift for Tony, who definitely deserves it.





	Changes

It was no secret that Tony Stark didn't love Christmas all that much.

As time went by, that aversion turned into dislike and that dislike slowly waned, until it became but a light sting of awareness that would shortly peep out during the holidays, only to quietly hole up in the back of his mind until it faded for good. He couldn't say it was his favorite day of the year, nor that he'd be eager to celebrate it, but his mood had significantly improved.

That Christmas morning he was sprawled on his armchair in the living room, with his gaze lost in the Pacific and a scalding coffee mug in his hand. Every now and then, he lazily scrolled a hologram floating right beside him, as he read some of the greeting messages he'd received for Christmas, which had completely flooded his mail. In the corner, a heavily decorated Christmas tree twinkled over the carpet of colorful presents at its feet.

He'd been just about to reply to Rogers' long, over-the-top, sappy message - most inappropriately, of course - when his sarcastic intents were interrupted by the noise of the front door closing, followed by the clacking of high heels. He immediately brightened up and shoved the screen aside.

"Hey," he said cheerfully. "Didn't expect you so soon," he added, making to stand up.

The woman speeded up the pace despite the bags encumbering her and beat him to it and she smacked a kiss on his cheek, which only widened his smile.

"Merry Christmas," she said, as she dropped her purchases on the floor. "How are you?" she asked right after, with just a drop of concern.

"Nothing new," he shrugged, laid back as usual. He then caught one of her reddish locks between his fingers. "You cut your hair. You're beautiful," he stated, with a rare sweetness seeping through his words.

She lightly blushed, in that inevitable reaction he knew so well.

"Don't change the subject," she jokingly scolded him. Her gaze fell upon the mug in his hand. "And this?" she inquired, with a suddenly stern frown.

"My youth potion," he promptly replied, taking an intentional long sip. "Namely coffee."

"Decaf?"

"Can't remember, age is getting a toll on me," he put on a sly smirk.

"Dad, it's bad for your heart," she sighed, folding her arms.

Tony sighed back, rolling his eyes in addition.

"It's just one cup, and it's Christmas," he protested, as she shook her head and gathered her bags to bring them under the tree. "Don't tell Mom," he added anyway, and he could see the amused smile which quirked up her lips.

"All right..." she agreed, with complicity, as she started piling up the presents. "Where's she?"

Tony took off his glasses and stood up a bit stiffly, walking up to her.

"Upstairs," he answered, as he carefully knelt to help her. "She'll be gone for other three or four hours, at least," he joked, starting to rummage through the various bags.

She swiftly snatched the packed he'd just started to curiously examine, putting it far away from him with a meaningful and borderline threatening look.

"You _had_ to overdo it again," she commented then, gesturing towards the considerable amount of presents before them.

"That's exactly the fun part," Tony shrugged, with a rascal smile on his lips, and the girl just sighed in resignation as she stood up and offered him a hand to help him up. "I'm not _that_ decrepit yet," he grumped, putting his hands on his knees and standing up on his own.

"What's this, then?" she teased him, playfully ruffling his short, light-grey hair.

He combed them back right away, feigning a pout, but his warm eyes betrayed him.

"Ellie?" a voice came from the stairs, followed by light footsteps. "You're already here?"

Pepper entered the room, wearing a plain, woolen tartan dress and with her hair pulled up in a silver-streaked chignon. As always, Tony was left with a slightly stunned expression plastered on his face. Ellie walked up to her to greet her and they immediately started to confabulate between them.

"You talking 'bout me?" Tony asked, frowning as he grabbed his coffee again to delete any proof of his misdeed.

Pepper glared at him all the same as he gulped down the drink, eliciting the usual, half-guilty, half-smug expression he'd been sporting for decades to soften her.

"We're trying to keep your present a secret, for _once_ ," she retorted, giving him herself a smile halfway between serious and humorous. She made her way to him and briefly hugged him.

"Tsk, good luck with that," he replied, lifting his chin defiance. He then turned to the glass wall facing the ocean, an arm still around her waist. "And anyway, even if I  _did_  find out, I would still appreciate it," he observed then, lifting an eyebrow.

"So it seems," she smiled, pinching the red-gold fabric of his debatable Christmas sweater with two fingers. "We never thought you would wear it," she added, rather amused.

"C'mon, I wanna be Iron Man again, at least on Christmas," he chuckled, pointing his thumb on the light-blue circle sewed on his chest. He then shot a slightly nostalgic look towards the stairs going down to the workshop.

Pepper gently brushed his cheek, tickling his goatee and turning his attention to her again.

"It's in good hands," she simply reminded him.

"I know," he muttered, with a slight nod.

"Peter and MJ are almost here and Arno is late!" Ellie announced as she was already busy going back and forth between the kitchen and the living room with her phone stuck to her ear.

"Uh-huh," Tony mumbled, disgruntled. "Let's see if he manages to arrive  _after_  Rhodey. That would be a new record."

"He took after  _you_ ," Pepper noticed, pointing a finger on his chest.

" _Touché_ ," he smirked in surrender. He approached the glass wall, still following the waves outside.

He wanted to fly again, right now. He could sense that known tingling in his guts, that light vertigo that caught his breath when he'd take off back then. It clouded his sight with memories, some painful, some precious, some shrouded by the veil of time and now bittersweet.

He could clearly imagine a metal glimmering on the water's edge, followed by a burning contrail that rippled the quiet waves.

Pepper drew up to him, her lips softly tilted upwards as her bright eyes narrowed slightly, framed by her smile wrinkles. Tony glanced at the decorated living room, with the ocean as a tranquil background, and pulled her closer to him, resting his temple on her head, all without a word.

He could hear the light clattering of dishes and Ellie quietly humming some Christmas carol; the constant murmuring of the ocean seeped through the glass in a known melody that filled in the silence.

"You all right?" Pepper's warm and soft voice caressed his ear and brought him back to the present. As always, she could read him like an open book and sense the thoughts he never dared to put into words.

He was about to answer when the front door opened again, letting a lively chatting fill the room.

"Mr. Stark! We're here!" Peter's boisterous voice ringed like the opening to a marching band, soon followed by giggles, excited and childish voices and a hurried pitter-patter of little shoes.

"Grandpa! Grandma! Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tony took his last sip of coffee, put a quick kiss on Pepper's cheek and turned just in time to face the two children tackling at him. "It's a beautiful day."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas gift :) Don't be shy to leave a comment to let me know what you think: feedback is the writer's fuel!
> 
> P.S. Arno is (in my headcanon) Tony's second-born, who takes up the role of Iron Man. His name is a reference to the comics, in which Arno is Howard and Maria's first son.


End file.
